A digital video recorder (DVR) is a device or system that records video in a digital format to a digital storage medium such as a disk drive or solid state memory for future playback. DVRs have different configurations. For example, a DVR may be a stand-alone, modular unit (such as those sold by TiVo), it may be a portable personal device, or it may be incorporated into other audiovisual components such as a set-top box or the TV itself. It may even be software for a personal computer (PC) that enables the PC to capture video for playback using the digital storage medium of the PC.
DVRs have become very popular. One obvious reason for their popularity is the convenience they offer users in “time shifting” programs. Specifically, DVRs allow users to schedule recordings of broadcast programs for viewing at a later, more convenient, time for the user. Although a typical DVR system facilitates time shifting through recording, if the content is not available for recording, the system's value is obviously diminished.
As used herein, “unavailable content” refers to content that is not available for recording on a particular user's DVR. Content may be unavailable for recording for a variety of reasons. First, content may be unavailable because it is not distributed or is not otherwise publicly available from a cable service provider or other type of provider. For example, personal video or recordings from a private collection on one user's DVR are unavailable for recording or playback on the DVR of others. Likewise, certain content may be available only through certain subscriptions, and, thus, if a user does not have the needed subscription, that content is unavailable to that user. Content that is unavailable to a user because that user does not have access to it is referred to herein as “nonpublic” or “local” content.
Second, content may be unavailable because it has already been transmitted. That is, a DVR can only record programs that will be or are currently being transmitted. They are unable to record content that has already been broadcasted or otherwise transmitted. Nevertheless, users often realize that they wanted to record certain content after its broadcast. Content that is unavailable because it has already been transmitted is referred to herein as “previously-transmitted” content. Both nonpublic and previously-transmitted content are similar in that a particular user does not have access to the content.
The third category is slightly different, in that, the user may have access to the content, but hardware limitations of the user's DVR prevent him from recording it. For example, a given set-top box may have just two tuners, therefore only two programs at a given time can be recorded/viewed, rendering all other programs unavailable for recording. Additionally, DVRs are limited in their storage. Frequently a program will be unavailable simply because there is no room to store it on the DVR. Content that is unavailable for recording because of hardware limitations of the DVR is referred to herein as “hardware-restricted” content.
Therefore, content may be unavailable for recording because it is nonpublic, previously-transmitted, or hardware-restricted. Regardless of the reason, however, often there is a need or desire to make this otherwise unavailable content available for recording and/or playback. The present invention fulfills this need among others.